LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT – IS YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE STIFLING YOUR TEAM AND KILLING YOUR BUSINESS? BY MATT EVERATT F.O.T.A AUTHOR & EDITOR Leave a comment

As part of the new Business feature, I plan to write on the subject of Leadership and Management in the coming editions. James MacGregor Burns in his 1978 book titled ‘Leadership’ writes that “Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.” One of the most common definitions used in the study and teaching of Leadership is that of Northouse who writes that “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.”
There are many leadership theories, all of which can be placed into one of eight main theories. This month we take a look at a very common leadership trait that I have experienced in our profession, one that I feel is perhaps still present in some laboratories today. As leaders, it is very important that we can reflect on our leadership styles and traits, I believe that good leaders can learn and develop their skills and do not have to be ‘natural born leaders’.
This month we look at ‘Controlling Leadership Traits’, although not in its own right a ‘Leadership Theory’ the trait can exist within several and perhaps more common in the ‘Transactional Theory’ of leadership. Transactional type leadership, I suspect, is rife within our profession, where the leader focuses on a more supervisory role, whereby employees gain rewards for achievements and punishments for poor performance.
First let’s reflect on what some of the common traits are and what we may experience as a controlling leader. Do you find your team struggles to share new ideas with you? Are they nervous or appear timid around you when they have an idea that may differ from yours? Do they enter into conversations about a new idea by apologising?
Obviously, it could be down to their own personality type or is it down to you and your leadership style are you a controlling leader?
It is not uncommon for leaders to believe their own hype and think that their opinion and beliefs are superior and more important to their subordinates and peers. A leader with a controlling leadership style or nature may be totally unaware of how their peers and subordinates feel or think of them and assume everyone agrees and approves of their leadership.

YOU FEEL YOU ARE ALWAYS RIGHT, BECAUSE YOU ARE RIGHT — RIGHT?
Do you ever question your own judgement? Do you ever ask others opinions on your ideas? If the answer is no, your leadership style has controlling tendencies that could be harming to your team and your business.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE:
Do you control information?
Do you keep others from having less information than you have? Do you enjoy holding the cards and to be in the position of delivering the information, maybe even holding some of that information back?
If you control the information you will also be more likely to control what is done with the information.

Do you feel you have to be part of every decision?
Do you think you should be involved the decisions your peers, subordinates or business makes? Seriously, be honest with yourself on this question. A controlling leader will find it incredibly difficult if they weren’t part of making the decision no matter how minor or major that decision may be.

Do you find it difficult to let go of the reins?
Do you fear handing over tasks or projects, no matter what they are, through fear that the job won’t get done as good as you would do it? Do you find you continually look in and check on things? Do you immediately dismiss any suggestions to change the process that you have always done?
This is not to say a leader delegates and just walks away. That is not what good leaders do. If you really struggle to let someone truly take charge of a task and step back to allow them to lead and make changes autonomously, it is likely you are a controlling leader. Not allowing your subordinates and peers to have a free reign sometimes can be extremely damaging to your business and the long term moral of the team. If they feel they cannot make even the simplest decisions without consulting you this can hold back innovation, it can hold back staff and lead to frustrations within the team.

Are YOU the final authority on every decision?
Give consideration to some of the decisions made in your business in the last month or year. Where you involved in all of them, did you have to have the final say? Were there any significant decisions made that you weren’t a part of making?

So, is a controlling leadership style necessarily a bad thing?
Some subordinates and peers will do well following the rules and directions set by a controlling leader and become followers. Followers tend to stay through a sense of responsibility and loyalty, sometimes through fear of letting their leader down. The followers of controlling leaders tend to lack innovation and fear stepping out on their own. On the positive, followers tend to stay within organisations and will be less likely to progress into leadership roles themselves and may be the reliable 9-5ers that every business needs.
On the flip side of this, those within the organisation that are leaders and who want to progress will be less likely to stay if they work for or with a controlling leader. Controlling leaders can stifle those leaders that want to grow. Their need to breathe and have creative space to take risks will be quashed by a controlling leader, the true leaders will find this difficult and won’t stay around too long.
Long term, controlling leadership does not work. It stifles innovation, stunts the growth of other leaders and inevitably stalls the growth of businesses.
If you feel you may be a controlling leader, or someone in your business is, here are some simple things to consider if you want to move into a more open and progressive leadership style. We can start by the way we communicate and the language we use;
Try using some of these language tips in your next meetings or in your daily conversations with your team.
Say “Yes” to other people’s ideas more than “No”. Ask “Why not?” more than saying “I don’t think so”. Use “Our” more than “My” and “We” more than “I”. Try to say “Thank you” more than “You’re welcome”.
This one is a real game changer for controlling leaders, be willing to say “Let’s do it” or “let’s give it a go” more than “We’ve never done it that way before” or “I don’t think it will work” and definitely never say “That’s a rubbish idea”. If that is a struggle then start with “How can we do this?” rather than “This is the way I do it”.
Finally, try encouraging people to open up and grow themselves use this regularly in your vocabulary “What do you think?”
We will look further into more positive traits of leaders and leadership styles in the coming issues, for now let me end this with some words from author, business and leadership coach Simon Sinek. Sinek is one of my favourite speakers and writers and I truly value his comments on being a good leader. He suggests that the 3 most valuable leadership traits are Selflessness, Empathy and Grace under fire.